Zeitgeist is the seventh studio album by the Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 10, 2007 on Martha’s Music and Reprise Records. Recorded solely by returning band members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, the album was the band’s first since reuniting in 2006, and was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Terry Date, alongside Corgan and Chamberlin themselves.
Preceded by the single Tarantula, the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, but sales soon decreased, and critical reception was mixed. It was certified Gold in the United States on February 1, 2008. To tour in support of the release, Corgan and Chamberlin recruited touring members, Jeff Schroeder (guitar), Ginger Reyes (bass) and Lisa Harriton (keyboards), with Schroeder eventually becoming a core member of the band. The album was the last to feature Chamberlin until 2018’s Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
After the Smashing Pumpkins disbanded in 2000, Corgan and Chamberlin reunited for the short-lived supergroup Zwan, also featuring members of Slint, Chavez, and A Perfect Circle. The group released one album, Mary Star of the Sea in early 2003, before dissolving six months after the release. Chamberlin then formed Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, while Corgan would focus on a solo album. On June 21, 2005, the day of the release of his album TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan took out full-page advertisements in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times to announce that he had “made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins.” Chamberlin soon announced that he would be rejoining the band, and the two began living together in north Scottsdale, Arizona in November 2005, writing and rehearsing new songs. Within three weeks of practicing, the pair decided they had recaptured the sound of the band and prepared to record a new album.
On April 20, 2006, the band’s website confirmed that the band had reunited and started work on a new album. The website later announced that the new album would be produced by Roy Thomas Baker. Chamberlin and Corgan were verified as participants in the reunion, but there was question as to whether other former members of the band would participate. In April 2007, James Iha and Melissa Auf der Maur separately confirmed that they were not taking part in the reunion.
Zeitgeist debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 145,000 copies in its first week. It also reached the top spots on Billboard‘s Internet Albums and Rock Albums charts in its first week, and hit the top 10 in Canada (#1), New Zealand (#1), the United Kingdom (#4), Germany (#7), Australia (#7), and other countries. The album was certified gold by the RIAA with 500,000 copies shipped as of February 1, 2008.
Tracklist:
- Doomsday Clock
- 7 Shades of Black
- Bleeding the Orchid
- That’s the Way (My Love Is)
- Tarantula
- Starz
- United States
- Neverlost
- Bring the Light
- (Come On) Let’s Go!
- For God and Country
- Pomp and Circumstances
- Zeitgeist: Target edition bonus track (Purple cover)
The Smashing Pumpkins
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums, percussion, production
Billy Corgan: vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, production
Production
Roy Thomas Baker: production and recording (tracks 6, 9, 12), additional production (tracks 5, 12), mixing
Terry Date: production (tracks 4, 8, 10, 11), recording (except tracks 6, 9)
Bruce Dickson, Justin Corrigan: photo shoot art supervision
Shepard Fairey: cover art, back cover design
Amber Griffin: photo shoot hair and makeup
Stephen Marcussen: mastering
Cynthia Obsenares: photo shoot costume design
Chris Owens, Kevin Mills, Alex Pavlides, Zephyrus Sowers, Bo Joe, Davey Rieley: assistant engineering
Vanessa Parr, Noel Zancanella: mix assistance and assistant engineering
Matt Taylor: package art direction and design
Bjorn Thorsrud: recording (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 12), mix assistance
Christina Wagner: photo shoot producer
Reissue personnel
Kristin Burns: “in studio” photography
Linda Strawberry: “in studio” photo-illustrations
Inside the Zeitgeist
P. R. Brown: director, “Tarantula” and “That’s the Way (My Love Is)” videos
Kristin Burns, Lisa Johnson: still photography
Bruce Dickson: studio footage
Will Knapp: editing
Janelle Lopez: associate production
On the Scene Productions, Inc.; Vision Istanbul Prod. Services; Speedway Films: interview footage
Jared Paul, Devin Sarno, Rob Gordon: executive production
